March 28 in History | This Day in History | The Book Center

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

March
28

March 28 wasn’t just another day on the calendar.

It was a stage for royal showdowns, scientific leaps, cultural breakthroughs, and personal turning points that still echo in the present.

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World History
193

Roman Emperor Pertinax Assassinated in Palace Coup

On March 28, 193, Roman emperor Pertinax was assassinated by members of the Praetorian Guard in his palace in Rome after a reign of just eighty-six days. He had tried to impose strict discipline and financial reforms after the excesses of Commodus, cutting back perks for the very guards meant to protect him. The conspirators stormed the palace and killed him, then infamously put the imperial throne up for sale to the highest bidder. His death accelerated the empire’s slide into the Year of the Five Emperors, a turbulent contest for power that exposed how fragile imperial authority had become.

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World History
845

Viking Raiders Sack Paris Along the Seine

On March 28, 845, a large Viking fleet under the leader often identified as Ragnar Lodbrok sailed up the River Seine and attacked Paris in the West Frankish kingdom. Frankish chroniclers describe dozens of longships gliding toward the city, their crews burning and plundering churches and settlements along the riverbanks. King Charles the Bald ultimately paid a substantial ransom to persuade the Vikings to withdraw rather than risk a pitched battle. The raid exposed the vulnerability of riverine capitals and pushed the Franks to build new fortifications, reshape their defenses, and negotiate uneasy truces with Norse warbands.

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Arts & Culture
845

Tang Emperor Wuzong Orders Suppression of “Foreign” Religions

On March 28, 845, Emperor Wuzong of China issued an edict targeting Buddhism and other “foreign” faiths, including Nestorian Christianity and Zoroastrianism, within the Tang realm. The decree, recorded in Chinese sources, initiated what is known as the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution: monasteries were closed, monks and nuns were defrocked, and temple lands were seized for the state. While Confucian and Daoist traditions remained, Buddhism’s institutional presence in China was sharply curtailed and reconfigured. The purge reshaped the religious landscape, forcing Buddhist communities to adapt, consolidate, and eventually return in more localized and less politically threatening forms.

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World History
1566

King James VI of Scotland Born at Edinburgh Castle

On March 28, 1566, Mary, Queen of Scots gave birth to James at Edinburgh Castle, the boy who would grow up to rule as James VI of Scotland and later James I of England and Ireland. His birth secured a Protestant-leaning heir in a kingdom riven by religious and dynastic tensions, immediately making him a central pawn in Scottish and English politics. Decades later, the “Union of the Crowns” in 1603 brought the English throne to James, uniting Scotland and England under a single monarch. That dynastic union laid the groundwork for the later political creation of Great Britain and shaped the future of the British Isles.

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U.S. History
1776

Juan Bautista de Anza Reaches San Francisco Bay

On March 28, 1776, Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza and his colonizing party reached the shores of San Francisco Bay in Alta California. After a grueling overland journey from present-day Mexico, the expedition scouted the area that would soon host the Presidio of San Francisco and Mission San Francisco de Asís. De Anza’s arrival marked Spain’s deeper push into the northern Pacific coast, intended to counter Russian and British ambitions. The military and religious outposts that followed became the nucleus for the city of San Francisco and anchored Spanish, then Mexican, and eventually American control of the region.

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World History
1797

Battle of Bornholm: British and Swedish Fleets Clash

On March 28, 1797, during the turbulent era of the French Revolutionary Wars, British and Swedish naval forces skirmished near the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. Britain sought to disrupt neutral shipping perceived as favoring France, while Sweden tried to defend its rights and commercial routes. The engagement was tactically limited, but it underscored how even formally neutral states could be drawn into the economic warfare surrounding the larger Anglo-French struggle. These Baltic tensions foreshadowed later conflicts over maritime access and neutrality in Europe’s northern waters.

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Famous Figures
1834

Johann Heinrich Mädler Publishes Landmark Map of the Moon

On March 28, 1834, German astronomer Johann Heinrich Mädler, working with Wilhelm Beer, released part of his painstakingly compiled “Mappa Selenographica,” a highly detailed map of the lunar surface. Mädler spent years sketching craters, mountains, and maria through telescopes, returning night after night to refine positions and shadows. His work set a new standard for selenography, the study and mapping of the Moon, giving astronomers a common reference for lunar features. The atlas helped shift public imagination of the Moon from a vague disk in the sky to a tangible, charted world.

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World History
1854

Britain and France Declare War on Russia in the Crimean Conflict

On March 28, 1854, Great Britain and France formally declared war on Russia, transforming the simmering Crimean dispute into a full-scale European conflict. The immediate trigger was Russia’s pressure on the Ottoman Empire and intervention in the Danubian Principalities, but underlying tensions included rivalry over influence in the Near East and access to warm-water ports. British and French leaders concluded that only military action would counter Russian expansion, and declarations of war passed through their parliaments and cabinets on that date. The ensuing Crimean War brought brutal fighting, high casualties, and enduring debates over logistics, medical care, and the role of war correspondents.

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U.S. History
1862

Battle of Glorieta Pass Halts Confederate Advance in the West

On March 28, 1862, Union and Confederate forces fought the decisive day of the Battle of Glorieta Pass in the New Mexico Territory during the American Civil War. Confederate troops had pushed westward hoping to seize rich mines and possibly reach the Pacific, but Union volunteers from Colorado and local New Mexicans met them in the mountain pass. While the fighting on the field was tactically indecisive, a Union detachment destroyed the Confederate supply train, forcing the southern force to retreat. The engagement is often called the “Gettysburg of the West” because it effectively ended Confederate ambitions to dominate the Southwest.

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Inventions
1910

Henri Fabre Achieves First Successful Seaplane Flight

On March 28, 1910, French engineer Henri Fabre piloted his experimental aircraft, the Hydravion, off the waters near Martigues on the Mediterranean coast in what is widely recognized as the first successful seaplane flight. The spindly machine, equipped with floats instead of wheels, skimmed across the surface before lifting off and flying a short but controlled distance. Fabre’s breakthrough demonstrated that heavier-than-air craft could safely take off from and land on water, opening possibilities for coastal aviation and naval reconnaissance. Within a few years, militaries and commercial operators around the world were experimenting with flying boats and seaplanes inspired by his design.

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World History
1930

Constantinople and Angora Officially Become Istanbul and Ankara

On March 28, 1930, the government of the Republic of Turkey formally requested that foreign governments adopt the Turkish names “İstanbul” and “Ankara” instead of “Constantinople” and “Angora.” The change was part of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s sweeping modernization program, which included language reform, new legal codes, and a secular national identity. While locals had long used the Turkish forms in daily speech, many international maps and postal systems still relied on the older names inherited from Byzantine and Ottoman history. The diplomatic note helped standardize usage worldwide, symbolically marking Turkey’s break with its imperial past and assertion of a modern national image.

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World History
1939

Madrid Falls, Signaling the End of the Spanish Civil War

On March 28, 1939, General Francisco Franco’s Nationalist forces entered Madrid after the Republican defenses collapsed, effectively ending three years of brutal civil war in Spain. The capital’s fall came after prolonged siege conditions, internal Republican divisions, and decisive Nationalist military advantages backed by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. As Franco’s troops advanced through the city, Republican leaders fled or went underground, and reprisals against suspected opponents soon followed. The Nationalist victory ushered in a decades-long authoritarian regime and turned Spain into a symbol of the era’s ideological battles between fascism, communism, and liberal democracy.

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World History
1941

Battle of Cape Matapan Peaks in the Mediterranean

On March 28, 1941, the main fighting of the Battle of Cape Matapan unfolded off the coast of Greece, pitting British and Allied naval forces against the Italian Regia Marina. Using radar and aerial reconnaissance, the Royal Navy coordinated night attacks that surprised the Italian fleet, sinking several cruisers and destroyers. The clash dramatically weakened Italy’s heavy surface ships in the eastern Mediterranean at a critical stage of World War II. The victory helped secure Allied sea lanes to Greece and Egypt and showcased how new technologies like shipborne radar were reshaping naval warfare.

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World History
1942

British Commandos Strike St. Nazaire in Daring Raid

On March 28, 1942, British forces launched Operation Chariot, a bold commando raid on the heavily defended French port of Saint-Nazaire, then under German occupation. The obsolete destroyer HMS Campbeltown, packed with explosives, rammed the gates of the Normandie dry dock, one of the few in Europe large enough to service German battleships like Tirpitz. After fierce close-quarters fighting, the delayed charges detonated, wrecking the dock and its facilities. Though many raiders were killed or captured, the operation denied the Kriegsmarine a key repair base on the Atlantic coast and became a celebrated example of special-operations warfare.

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Famous Figures
1958

Nikita Khrushchev Consolidates Power as Soviet Premier

On March 28, 1958, Nikita Khrushchev was confirmed as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, effectively becoming both party leader and head of government. Having already served as First Secretary of the Communist Party, he now held the top positions in both the political and administrative hierarchies. This consolidation allowed him to push forward de‑Stalinization, agricultural reforms, and a more assertive yet sometimes erratic foreign policy. His premiership framed everything from the early space race to the Cuban Missile Crisis, and his rise signaled a new, more openly contested era inside the Soviet leadership.

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Arts & Culture
1963

Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” Premieres in New York

On March 28, 1963, Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller “The Birds” had its New York premiere, introducing audiences to a quiet coastal town slowly besieged by inexplicably aggressive flocks. Starring Tippi Hedren and Rod Taylor, the film blended minimal soundtrack music with unsettling sound design, letting the beat of wings and shrieks carry much of the tension. Viewers watched as everyday spaces—schoolyards, gas stations, living rooms—turned into fragile fortresses against nature. The movie quickly embedded itself in popular culture, influencing later horror and disaster films and reinforcing Hitchcock’s reputation as a master of cinematic suspense.

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Famous Figures
1969

Former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower Dies in Washington

On March 28, 1969, Dwight D. Eisenhower, five‑star general and 34th president of the United States, died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Eisenhower had led Allied forces in Western Europe during World War II and later served two terms in the White House, overseeing the end of the Korean War, the launch of the Interstate Highway System, and the early years of the space age. His farewell address famously warned against the unchecked growth of a “military‑industrial complex,” a phrase that entered political vocabulary worldwide. His death prompted tributes that spanned veterans’ groups, civil rights leaders, and foreign governments who had worked with him during an era of both Cold War tension and postwar rebuilding.

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Science & Industry
1979

Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident Begins in Pennsylvania

On March 28, 1979, a combination of equipment failures and human error triggered a partial meltdown in Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. A stuck relief valve and confusing control‑room indicators led operators to misinterpret what was happening inside the reactor core, reducing cooling when it was most needed. While most radiation releases were limited and contained, images of the plant and conflicting official statements unsettled the American public. The incident led to sweeping regulatory changes, new requirements for operator training and emergency planning, and a deep reevaluation of nuclear power’s role in the U.S. energy mix.

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U.S. History
1990

Jesse Owens Awarded Congressional Gold Medal Posthumously

On March 28, 1990, President George H. W. Bush presented the Congressional Gold Medal posthumously to sprinter Jesse Owens, the American track star who won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The ceremony at the White House honored Owens’s athletic brilliance as well as his quiet defiance of Nazi racial ideology in front of Adolf Hitler and an international audience. Owens had long been celebrated in sports circles, but official national recognition from Congress took decades to arrive. The medal symbolized a broader reassessment of his legacy as both a champion and a figure in the struggle for racial equality in the United States.

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Science & Industry
2005

Powerful Nias–Simeulue Earthquake Strikes off Sumatra

On March 28, 2005, a massive undersea earthquake occurred off the coast of Indonesia near the islands of Nias and Simeulue, with a magnitude estimated at around 8.6. The quake, located along the same subduction zone as the devastating Indian Ocean event three months earlier, generated significant shaking and localized tsunamis, particularly affecting communities in Sumatra and nearby islands. Although fewer lives were lost than in December 2004, the destruction of homes, ports, and infrastructure was severe, and aftershocks rattled the region for weeks. Seismologists used data from the event to refine models of plate movement and to push for better regional early‑warning systems in the Indian Ocean basin.

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World History
2017

Brexit Process Formally Set in Motion with Article 50 Letter

On March 28, 2017, British Prime Minister Theresa May signed the letter that would the next day be delivered to the European Council, formally invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to begin the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union. Photographs showed her at a small desk in 10 Downing Street, pen in hand, completing a document that had been the focus of months of legal and political debate after the 2016 referendum. The signature triggered a two‑year negotiation period, opening complex talks on trade, borders, and citizens’ rights. Whatever one’s view of Brexit, the moment marked a historic shift in Europe’s postwar integration project and the UK’s place within it.

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Arts & Culture
1842

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Gives Its First Concert

On March 28, 1842, musicians of the Imperial Court Opera Orchestra in Vienna gathered under conductor Otto Nicolai to give the first concert of what would become the Vienna Philharmonic. Performed in the Großer Redoutensaal of the Hofburg Palace, the program featured works by Beethoven, Mozart, and others, presented by an ensemble managed largely by the players themselves. This self-governing structure, unusual for the time, gave the musicians significant control over repertoire and artistic direction. Over the decades, the Vienna Philharmonic grew into one of the world’s most respected orchestras, known for its distinct sound and high-profile events like the annual New Year’s Concert.

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U.S. History
1938

Supreme Court Rewrites Federal Common Law in Erie Decision

On March 28, 1938, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling in Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins, holding that there is no general federal common law in diversity cases. The case stemmed from a man struck by a passing train while walking along a Pennsylvania railroad right-of-way, but it turned into a fundamental debate about the balance of state and federal judicial power. Justice Louis Brandeis’s opinion declared that federal courts must usually apply state substantive law when hearing state-law claims, overturning nearly a century of practice. The decision reshaped American civil litigation, influencing where parties file lawsuits and how judges approach conflicts between state and federal rules.